You fainted straight into my arms - Ramwood
by savingprivatesimmons
Summary: Geoff had barely regained consciousness when he heard the unmistakable smug voice from beside him. He rubbed his eyes for a few moments to rid himself of the grogginess before sitting up on the couch he'd found himself on and sending Ryan the most lethal death stare he could muster after passing out.


"You fainted… straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes."

Geoff had barely regained consciousness when he heard the unmistakable smug voice from beside him. He rubbed his eyes for a few moments to rid himself of the grogginess before sitting up on the couch he'd found himself on and sending Ryan the most lethal death stare he could muster after passing out. How the fuck he got to a couch after being on the outskirts of the city in an abandoned railway tunnel was a mystery to him, but Geoff had bigger issues to be dealing with at that moment.

"I did _not_ pass out." Geoff declared with determination, cringing at the croakiness of his own voice and coughing a few times to clear his throat.

Ryan raised an eyebrow and a half-smirk worked its way onto his lips as he observed the crimson red that had flushed to Geoff's cheeks. He wasn't about to comment though, Geoff often silently cursed the other man for seldom needing words to get his points across. Sometimes Geoff was grateful because it meant shitty things needn't be spoken aloud, but then there was the often sarcastic nature the silent nods took on and _those_ were the times Geoff hated Ryan for his gift. Just like now.

"Okay fine, I passed out." Geoff snapped back. "There must've been fumes in there or something, it _was_ pretty musty and who knows what kind of shit was in the air in that tunnel. The thing hasn't been used in _decades_."

Ryan huffed amusedly before shaking his head, albeit the almost affectionate smile on his face had Geoff feeling half-confused and half-glad. At least Ryan didn't think he was _too_ ridiculous or incompetent; Geoff had reputations to uphold as the boss of the Fake AH Crew, he'd rather people didn't know about this little mishap.

"Geoff," Ryan started, "we'd already walked through the tunnel. If there were fumes, they would've gotten to us earlier and they would've affected me too." Oh no. Geoff knew what was coming next and he bit his lip to prepare himself for it. "You took one look at the little two-foot snake on the path in front of us, went white as a sheet, froze for about ten seconds then passed the fuck out."

Sighing, Geoff rubbed at his face in a futile attempt to hide the raging blush that had plastered itself all over him. Not only had he passed out in front of Ryan thanks to a snake, he'd passed out _into Ryan's arms_ thanks to a snake. Jesus H _Christ_ , that was embarrassing. There are fucking _children_ who would fare better in a room with a snake compared to him (and he was Geoff L. Ramsey, mob boss extraordinaire and King of Los Santos).

"I fucking hate snakes, okay?" Geoff declared after what felt like an age and a half of shame. "Like, I fucking hate them _a lot_." A shiver shot down his spine and he shifted on the couch to make it look like he'd just been shuffling to get comfortable, but Ryan was Ryan and of course he saw through that.

"Oh, you should've said sooner, I probably could'a shot it before you even saw it." Was the calm and oddly supportive reply Ryan gave. Geoff cocked his head to one side and furrowed his brow at the reassuring tone Ryan had used, but he received nothing more than a

"Next time we go into a dark, dank tunnel like that, I promise I'll keep an eye out for them."

"You will?" Geoff had to refrain from letting his jaw drop in shock.

"Of course," Ryan answered, and there was that winning smile again. Man, Geoff could get used to this. Maybe he needed to put himself in positions of emotional danger more often. "Everyone's got their phobias, I don't see why I wouldn't try and help you with yours."

"Aw, thanks Ryan," Geoff grinned broadly. "I knew there was a reason you're my favourite."

Ryan gave a faux-hurt pout at that. "So it isn't for my dashing looks or charming personality?" he asked, unable to fight off the smirk that played on his lips in that mischievous way Geoff was perpetually fond of.

"Those too, of course," Geoff happily informed, "I just gotta make sure that I don't go investigating potential getaway vehicle storage areas without you."

"Oh don't worry; I won't let you go exploring dark, abandoned places without me anymore." Ryan informed with a smirk and Geoff wasn't sure whether to be terrified or turned on. Honestly, he never knew how to feel around Ryan; the line between flirting and threatening was so thin that Geoff found that he didn't care if the two were blurred.

"Maybe next time you should hold my hand." Geoff added in a somewhat unserious albeit also somewhat suggestive tone. Although he hoped to whatever deity that had ended up unlucky enough to watch over Los Santos that Ryan believed he wasn't being serious. Because, holy shit, Geoff would probably combust if Ryan saw the truth behind that joke.

"Maybe I will." Ryan answered, the smirk on his face and cheeky glint in his shining blue eyes suggesting that perhaps he knew Geoff was slightly more serious about his idea than he'd originally sounded. And perhaps, just this once, Geoff didn't mind that his joke hadn't been taken seriously.


End file.
